German car manufacturer Volkswagen has now confirmed that they will launch a compact sub 4-metre version of the Vento sedan sometime next year. Like all other manufacturers present in India, Volkswagen too seems to have been bitten by the compact sedan bug in an attempt to capitalize on the hugely popular segment in India. The sub 4-metre category attracts the lowest taxation in the Indian car industry, so these compact sedans prove to be a very value for money proposition for buyers.
Volkswagen’s new compact sedan based on the Vento platform is currently being developed at their research and development facility at Chakan near Pune. It is expected that the vehicle will be ready for production by next year and Volkswagen will launch it sometime in 2014. To take maximum advantage of the lower taxation, the German company may try to use engines that are smaller than 1.2-litre and 1.5-litre for petrol and diesel respectively. Which engines exactly will be used is not known.
The Volkswagen Vento compact sedan will go head on with segment leader Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire as well as upcoming cars like the Honda Amaze and Mahindra Verito compact sedan. Volkswagen wants to utilize the full potential of the Polo-Vento platform, the PQ25, in India. They are also debating a new compact SUV and a MPV based on the same platform. So many products using the same platform in successful segments definitely should give Volkswagen quite an edge in pricing. This could fetch huge volumes and success for the company in India.
Source – Autocar India
